Dueling Dragon's

[Lucas]

"You shooting for something with all these compliments?"
she said, shoving him in the ribs.

He gave her a big grin. "Hey. I am student of beauty. And when I see it, I have to say something."
He laughed to show he was being mock-seriousness while really still complimenting her.

At the table, she carefully touched the peace he was working on, almost tracing the lines of the feathered serpent. He watched her carefully. She was very skilled and he was curious as to her thoughts. "Nice,"
she said and he knew she meant it.

He was satisfied with that. It was very different than what he normal did, but he was proud of its alienness. Then she pulled out her work arranging it on the table. As always, her work was brilliant. As his eyes went over them- the vibrancy of the colors and the detail of the lines- he was impressed. She was explaining the location and size. And already in his mind he was imagining drawing with his gun, the contours of her arm and bone, the grain of the skin, the flow of the ink into it and the blurring.

"Unless she's a little person, I think the details will be visible. Shouldn't be much distortion, if any."


The door dinged and he looked up. A pretty girl came in, dressed in dark colors and immediately started talking. Despite the somber clothes, it was like a spring breeze had blown into the store and he smiled. She seemed to know Lucas' latest project- and the looks she was shooting at him said that she'd like to be the next one, for sure. That guy, Sergei laughed to himself, shaking his head. Oh well.

She came over to Thal and their greeting were quick before Rune was exclaiming over the drawings. Between the two of them, it seemed like the shop had been hit by a whirlwind. He liked it.

"So, Serg, what do you think? You're the one gonna do it, eh?"


He feigned insult. "Serg? What, do I look like, a hairdresser to you? Course with a pretty girl like you, I might put some color in it. I think it'd fit."
Then he gave her a wink and a smile. "Nice to meet you Rune."
Then, looking at the drawings, "They're beautiful of course. It IS Thal, after all. Question is how it will shrink and fit on your forearm. Take that jacket off and let me have a look."
He looked at her as if considering. "If you have Popeye forearms we won't even need to shrink the drawing down."
A smile to show he was joking.